Three days after historic flash floods swept through several towns in southern Valencia, in eastern Spain, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity on Friday. Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes. Some places still don’t have electricity, running water, or stable telephone connections.

Residents turned to media to appeal for help. “This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine. There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water.  We have no access to anything,” a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE. “No one even came to warn us on the first day.”